Page 7 of Cruel Honor

“I know. But I slept with her anyway. I’m not going to marry her, though. That’s why I’m throwing this party. It’s an eligible bachelorette party to find a different woman to marry.”

“You’re going to get out of this by marrying someone else? Even though you hate the idea of marriage.”

“I figure this is the best way out of a bad situation. If I’m married to someone else, then Abram can’t force me to marry Tatiana.”

She flops onto the couch and begins to laugh. I give Katya a lot of leeway because she’s my sister, but if she were one of my men, I’d set her straight. But because she’s my sister, I grit my teeth and wait for her to finish laughing.

“Ok,” she says, clutching her stomach. “You’re going to marry someone else, someone you don’t even love or know, just to get out of marrying Tatiana?”

“Yes.”

“But that’ll just make Abram angrier. I’ve met him before. He has a total stick up his ass.”

“But by then, Abram won’t be able to do anything. I’ll already bemarried. He would make himself and Tatiana look more like a fool if he tried something.”

She stares at her nails. “If you say so, Dimitri. If you say so.”

“I’m going to find a wife, Katya. It just won’t be Tatiana.”

“Thank god for that. Her voice is so annoying.”

“Anything else you want to comment on?” I’ve learned to let Katya speak her mind before walking away. It’s the best way to shut her up.

“Nope, I’m good. I just think you’re going to get yourself killed by Abram, but what do I know? I’m just a girl.”

I grumble under my breath as I walk away.

EVIE

Juno is lying on the couch, in the darkness, when I return home from the library. “I have such a headache,” she says in greeting, “so you’ll have to make the dinner tonight.”

“Yes, Juno.” More and more lately, she’s been having headaches, and I’ve been having to cook. It’s a good life skill to have, but I have a ton of writing to do tonight. If Juno would just be ok with a simple, quick meal, then no problem, but she demands a three course elaborate meal every night that takes me hours.

I think back to Katya’s words. How I should live my life more for myself. How I should get out more. I do truly love being alone with my books, but … I can’t help but wonder what my life would be like if it had a little more fullness to it.

If it wasn’t just Juno and me.

“Can you make dinner any faster?” she asks, coming into the kitchen and grabbing a chocolate bar to snack on. “I’m starving.”

“You’re eating.”

“Chocolate isn’t a food, Evelyn.” She takes an even larger bite. For someone trying to watch her figure, she sure does eat a lot of chocolate. But I would never tell Juno this. The last time I made her angry, she guilt tripped me into giving her my nice, queen-sized mattress. She gave me a hard, lumpy old mattress to use instead.

Rationally, I know I can leave Juno behind, but this is my father’shouse. It’s small and not worth a lot, but it’s his house. I can’t leave it. And Juno refuses to leave.

So, it’s her and me, and if I want to stay here, I need to make Juno happy so she becomes slightly more bearable.

I cut up tofu and put it into a pot to simmer.

Juno makes a face. “Tofu? Again? Can’t we have steak?”

“Steak is more expensive. Besides, tofu is better for us and the environment.”

“I don’t care about the environment, Evelyn. I just want a good meal.”

“Then make it yourself,” I mutter. The moment I do it, I regret it.

Juno stands right beside me, her hot breath smelling of chocolate. “I could kick you out of this house, Evelyn. Your father left it to me, remember?” She runs her hand down my slightly wavy hair. “You have such beautiful hair. It would be a shame to lose it during the night.”

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